Moving on Up: Harvey Nics' 5th Floor Bar by Matt Morley

Knightsbridge is fast becoming a world hub for the ultra-wealthy, whether attracted by the restaurants, hotels, shops or Candy & Candy apartment blocks, the streets are now permanently blocked with chauffeured Mercedes and poorly parked Cayennes. Standing prominently at the epicentre of all this is Harvey Nichols, the luxury shopping emporium that now houses a newly Russified Fifth Floor Bar.

Gone is the rather tired décor of old and in comes a striking white, red and black geometric design inspired by the constructivism of Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko. Classic photographs depicting the Sputnik space mission and the Moskva Hotel also pepper the walls helping to reinforce the décor concept overall.

Admittedly, this is not the place to come for an insight into the intricacies of Russian aesthetics, whether old or new. But then again, one senses the Fifth Floor Bar was never designed with Russian customers in mind, it paints with too broad a brush for that.

Seen within the context of Russian culture gaining mass appeal in the UK however, this bar is a first step, a gentle introduction, a Beginner’s Guide to Russian bar culture...and, as if to prove the point, bar manager Bek Narzibekov has created a private toasting room as a tribute to this most Russian of traditions.

It is in this 8-person private booth that Bek offers what he calls ‘toasting masterclasses’ involving a basic lesson on the history and traditions of vodka drinking in its home country, accompanied by various innovative vodka cocktails.

Stolichnaya supply all the vodka here now and it’s worth trying out some of the more unusual creations, such as the St.Petersburg Martini. A double vodka jelly shot flavoured with caraway seeds arrives on a plate garnished with dill; this is then to be ‘chased’ by a sideshot of spicey beetroot sangrita. Unorthodox, yes, but even in Moscow very few bars have gone this far in terms of cocktail creativity, making the Fifth Floor Bar worth a visit for novelty value alone.

The food menu has also been adapted to include dishes such as a ‘sharing plate of lightly pickled and lightly salted peppers, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes’, although the description alone tells us how Swedish chef Jonas Karlsson felt he had to tone down elements of Russian cuisine to make it more London-friendly.

‘Baltic smoked salmon and creamed horseradish on black bread’ is an easier sell of course, as is beluga, ossietra or sevruga caviar from Petrossian with blinis and sour cream. The jury is still out on how the full menu of zakuski is going down with the local audience, but in the meantime, native Russians can rest easy in the knowledge that if, one day, they simply must fill up on Stoli Elit and beluga before embarking on that next shopping spree, Harvey Nichols is the only place to come. For the moment at least...

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